Susan Easton Black: Quincy–A City of Refuge
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Quincy—A City of Refuge
Susan Easton Black
Early Quincy residents compassionately cared for Mormon exiles from
Missouri, as one would care for an enduring friend.1 Residents expressed
indignation at the Missouri governor’s order proclaiming, “The Mormons
must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the
State.”2 Citizens of Quincy disregarded religious differences and embraced
downcast Mormons crossing the Mississippi River. The solicitous reception
by Quincyans during the winter of 1838–39 is unparalleled in the annals of
Mormonism and has never been forgotten. It has become a legacy that epitomizes all that is good in people.
The story of this legacy begins just as Mormon founder Joseph Smith
was concluding that the Patriarch Abraham and the ancients would “not
have whereof to boast over us [meaning his followers] in the day of judgment” and that the Latter-day Saints would “hold an even weight in the balance with them.”3 At this season of lamentation, the citizens of Quincy
reached out to heal wounds, redress wrongs, and assist the sorrowful.
Quincyans offered hearth and home, sustenance, and their possessions to
provide much-needed relief to the Mormon exiles.
Quincy historian Phil Germann recalled the generosity on a recent
WGEM News broadcast. He remarked, “It was [one of] the greatest humanitarian gestures in the United States. . . . Quincy in the 1830s was not prepared to welcome strangers. Travel was difficult and health precarious.” He
viewed the generosity of the forebears of his city as “one of . . . the most significant events in the history of the community.”4
SUSAN EASTON BLACK is a Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young
University.
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In the winter of 1838–39, thousands of religious exiles trekked nearly
two hundred miles from Far West, Missouri, to the banks of the Mississippi
River.5 Brigham Young wrote that this was not the first time Latter-day
Saints had been forced to move. “We have, time and again, and again, been
driven from our peaceful homes, and our women and children been obliged
to exist on the prairies, in the forests, on the roads, and in tents, in the dead
of winter, suffering all manner of hardships, even to death itself.”6
By 1839, able Mormon exiles had reached the Mississippi, while the less
fit succumbed to privation and suffering and met untimely deaths. Among
those able to reach the river were Elisha Groves, James Sloan, and Burr
Riggs. Elisha Groves recalled the circumstances leading to his encampment
near the river: “On 16 November 1838 Judge Vinson Smith and others came
into [my] home and ordered myself and family to leave our possessions . . .
[and] within three days leave [Daviess] county or they would take our lives,
for there was no Law to save us.”7 James Sloan, likewise, related his struggles,
swearing “that his life was threatened, his property taken, and he was obliged to flee the state with his family, greatly to his disadvantage.”8 And Burr
Riggs reported that “a mob of one hundred and fourteen armed men” threatened the life of him and his family and “followed us about six miles and
[then] left us.”9
Groves, Sloan, and Riggs were not atypical Mormons suffering from the
government-sanctioned extermination order. They were representatives of
thousands of Mormons forced to abandon their possessions and flee from
Missouri. As historian Germann recalled the circumstances of the Mormons’
flight to safety, he spoke of the extermination order “being out of place in a
country established on the principles of religious freedom. . . . The governor’s
quote ‘nits make lice,’ in reference to killing Mormon children, is unacceptable in any society.”10
Yet, unacceptable as the order was, Mormons were forced to flee or face
death. Most chose to flee from the governor’s wrath in hopes of escaping further atrocities. Many of the exiles journeyed to the west bank of the
Mississippi River and encamped directly across from Quincy, then home to
sixteen hundred settlers—mostly natives of New England. It was not the settlers of Quincy, the agrarian possibilities of the community, or the picturesque setting of the city on the limestone bluff that prompted Mormons
to gather across from Quincy. Among other things, it was the ferryboat facilities in Quincy bay that attracted the exiles. They hoped that the river craft
would transport them out of Missouri to safety.
Unfortunately, floating ice delayed most river crafts from conveying the
religious exiles to safety. The “ice had broken up on the west side of the river
and was running so the ferry boat could not cross,” wrote Sarah Rich. “All
Susan Easton Black: Quincy–A City of Refuge
85
Quincy Lithograph 1859
Photo courtesy of Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County
chance for crossing was to go across in a skiff or canoe through the ice until
they reached the island and from there walk on the ice to reach Quincy on
the east side,” she continued.11
Most Mormons did not attempt to cross the treacherous waters. During
February and March of 1839, hundreds waited anxiously for the river either
to freeze or to melt and permit passage. Most exiles had scant provisions and
huddled together in makeshift tents. Wandle Mace, a citizen of Quincy,
wrote that “some had sheets stretched to make a little shelter from the wind,
but it was a poor protection, the children were shivering around a fire which
the wind blew about so it done them very little good. The poor Saints were
suffering terribly.”12
Among the refugees waiting to cross the icy river was Lucy Mack Smith,
mother of the Mormon Prophet. She wrote, “The snow was now six inches
deep and still falling. We made our beds upon it and went to rest with what
comfort we might under such circumstances. The next morning our beds
were covered with snow and much of the bedding under which we lay was
frozen. We rose and tried to light a fire, but, finding it impossible, we
resigned ourselves to our comfortless situation.”13
Some Mormons, anxious to escape further suffering, attempted to cross
the river in canoes. “In the midst of great dangers,” wrote Sarah Rich, “[they]
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crossed the river in a canoe, paddling through the ice, the women holding
onto the side while the floating ice cut their fingers.”14 Not all who attempted the voyage were as fortunate. Martha Thomas recalled that on her voyage, “We made our landing good at Quincy, the other boat was surrounded
with ice and taken out of sight, below town. I was much troubled for fear
they would all be drowned.”15 Fortunately, her fears were not realized.
Others waited for a more opportune crossing, believing it to be when the
river would soon freeze over. Yet how could they be sure at any point that
the river was frozen enough to cross? As they waited, “the good people of
Quincy” courageously boarded a canoe and pushed through the icy formations to bring needed relief. Wandle Mace wrote that the people of Quincy
“donated liberally, the merchants vieing with each other as to which could
be the most liberal. They soon had the contributions together, which filled
a large canoe with flour, pork, coffee, sugar, boots, shoes and clothing, everything these poor outcasts so much needed.”16
As the river froze, Mormons who had benefited from the generosity of
the Quincyans crossed on the ice to Quincy—their city of refuge. One such
young man was Mosiah Hancock, who recalled seeing “great blocks of frozen
ice all over the river, and it was slick and clear. . . . I being barefooted and
the ice so rough, I staggered all over. We finally got across, and we were so
glad, for before we reached the other side, the river had started to swell and
break up. Father said, ‘Run, Mosiah,’ and I did run! We all just made it on
the opposite bank when the ice started to snap and pile up in great heaps,
and the water broke through!”17 Another who reached safety was the wife of
Joseph Smith, Emma Smith. With two babies, Alexander and Frederick, in
her arms and two children, Joseph and Julia, at her skirts, Emma walked
across the frozen Mississippi seeking a place of refuge.18
Upon reaching land, many Mormon exiles could not refrain from
expressing joy at their newfound freedom. Perhaps, as today, they saw the
eagles flying overhead near the shoreline and remembered the guarantees of
religious freedom contained in the United States Constitution.19 Of the
many who expressed joy, Parley P. Pratt perhaps best conveyed what these
exiles felt. When he arrived in Quincy, “[Pratt] immediately stepped a few
paces into the woods, and, kneeling down, kissed the ground as a land of liberty, and then poured out [his] soul in thanks to God.”20 He knew, as did
another exile, Joseph Holbrook, that he had come “in[to] a land of freedom
once more by the help of God and his blessings.”21 “Once more” Parley and
fellow Mormons were “free to seek the pursuits of happiness and the welfare
of the human race,”22 Lyman Littlefield penned of the emotional greetings
of “husbands and wives, parents and children, . . . Brethren and sisters, of
like precious faith.”23
Yet, amid these joyous reunions, the Saints knew their lives were still in
Susan Easton Black: Quincy–A City of Refuge
87
peril. Hate-filled Missourians were crossing the Mississippi River and laying
plans to kidnap unsuspecting Mormons. Such was the fate of Alanson
Brown, James Allred, Benjamin Boyce, and Noah Rogers. These men were
forcefully taken from Quincy across the Mississippi into Lewis County,
Missouri. There Brown was hanged from a tree until nearly strangled. Boyce
was tied to a tree, stripped of his clothing, and inhumanly beaten, as were
Rogers and Allred.24
Not wishing the same fate, most of the displaced Mormons attempted to
protect themselves from further atrocities. Their efforts would have been
fruitless had it not been for the citizens of Quincy, who offered their uncompromising protection. Their only question seemed to be, “Why are Mormons
so persecuted?” To answer their query, a series of lectures about Mormonism
was presented in the Quincy courthouse by Erastus Snow. A biographer of
Snow wrote of his lectures, “[At the courthouse] I first saw him, and wondered at his marvelous gift in explaining the Scriptures.”25 While Quincy
Reverend George Moore, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School,
claimed to find these sermons “boring,” ironically, one author points out that
Reverend Moore “never tired of writing about them.”26
Whether profound or boring, the lectures of Erastus Snow and others led
many Quincyans to offer protection, food, and clothing to the religious
exiles. Their unbounded generosity was not done in secret. Their kindness
was extolled on both sides of the river. The adulation caused suffering
Mormons, still entrapped in Missouri, to set their course for the Mississippi
and then for Quincy. So many religious exiles came to Quincy that soon
refugees outnumbered Quincyans more than three to one. By April 1839,
Quincy’s homes were bulging with refugees, and makeshift tents covered
Washington Park.27
Joseph Hovey, an eyewitness to the sprawling tents in the park, wrote of
seeing Latter-day Saints “[with] nothing but the canopy of heaven to shelter
them and many were sick. I had a feeling for their welfare and I remained
and assisted my brother, Orlando, to administer medicine to the sick to the
best of my knowledge and experience.”28 Wilford Woodruff wrote, “[I] saw a
great many of the Saints, old and young, lying in the mud and water, in a
rainstorm, without tent or covering. . . . The sight filled my eyes with
tears.”29
Observer Wandle Mace offered his house to the suffering Mormons.
“Many of the Saints were glad to find shelter in my house from the storms,”
wrote Mace. “Many nights the floors, upstairs and down, were covered with
beds so closely it was impossible to set a foot anywhere without stepping
upon someone’s bed.”30 Quincyan Esaias Edwards also offered his house: “I
found some of those unfortunate individuals camped out in the snow storm
and I was filled with compassion towards them. And I told them if they
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Mormon Historical Studies
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas Monument
in honor of their debate at Quincy, Illinois,
13 October 1858.
Washington Park
Photo by Alexander L. Baugh
would come home with me that I would receive them into my house.”31 The
kindness offered by Mace and Edwards was mirrored again and again by
other citizens of Quincy. Lucy Mack Smith wrote of the “ladies of Quincy
[sending] us every delicacy which the city afforded.” Of special mention was
the Messer family, of whom she penned, “[They] sought every opportunity to
oblige us while we remained in the place.”32 William Cahoon wrote of the
Travis family offering employment.33 Aroet Hale wrote of a Mr. Stilson
employing his father.34 And Luman Shurtliff wrote of arriving in Quincy in
the evening hours and of “wondering how we should get up the hill with our
things, as weak as we were, and where we could stay overnight.” He then
penned, “When the boat landed many of the citizens came on board” to
assist.35 Thus, in a very caring manner, the citizens of Quincy assisted the
religious exiles.
Susan Easton Black: Quincy–A City of Refuge
89
The local Democratic Association of Quincy encouraged more assistance through a series of resolutions. In February 1839, the association
resolved that “the people called the Latter-day Saints were in a situation
requiring the aid of the people of Quincy.” Another resolution concluded
that “the strangers . . . are entitled to our sympathy and kindest regard, and
that we recommend to the citizens of Quincy to extend to them all the kindness in their power to bestow, as persons who are in affliction.” Yet another
recommended that “in all their intercourse with the strangers, . . .
[Quincyans] be particularly careful not to indulge in any conversation or
expression calculated to wound their feelings. . . . [They] are entitled to our
sympathy and commiseration.”36
Encouraging these resolutions was famous Quincy lawyer Orville H.
Browning. “Great God! have I not seen it?” said Browning. “Yes, my eyes
have beheld the blood-stained traces of innocent women and children, in
the drear winter, who had traveled hundreds of miles barefoot, through frost
and snow, to seek a refuge from their savage pursers.”37 His account of
Mormon suffering was so moving that many who listened, including Judge
Stephen A. Douglas and other community leaders, were in tears.
As more relief measures were adopted, Quincyans were soon embarrassed to find themselves financially burdened by their own generosity.
Seeking relief, yet wanting to keep benevolence at an appropriate level, they
recommended that John Greene go east to raise additional “means to relieve
the sufferings of this unfortunate people.”38 These and other extraordinary
efforts to assist the downtrodden followers of Joseph Smith were in place
when the Mormon Prophet arrived in Quincy on 22 April 1839. He immediately recognized and appreciated that “in our time of deep distress,
[Quincyans] nobly came forward to our relief, and, like the good Samaritan,
poured oil into our wounds, and contributed liberally to our necessities.”39
He, like other Mormons, was most grateful for the unprecedented help.
Whether food, clothing, shelter, or employment, the hand of mercy was evident at every turn. Yet the time had come to move on—to found homes of
their own in what would become the city of Nauvoo. For Mormons who
remained in Quincy, leaders established a local organization of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They appointed Daniel Stanton as stake
president and Stephen Jones and Quincy resident Ezra T. Benson as counselors. This organization proved unnecessary by 1841, for the Mormon population in Quincy was reduced to seventy-seven people.
Although the Quincy population of Mormons dwindled dramatically in
the 1840s, interaction between Mormons and Quincyans remained notable.
For example, in August 1843, an excursion boat from Nauvoo carried Joseph
Smith and other leading Mormons to Quincy as invited guests of Quincy
Mayor John Wood. The mayor met his guests at the boat landing and host-
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ed them to a dinner party, in which “Brother Joseph” was the “after-dinner
entertainer.” Quincyans who listened to his words were “loath to have him
depart.”40 The journal of Joseph Smith contains entries of his hosting
Quincyans: “Friday, July 14, 1843—I was visited by a number of gentlemen
and ladies who had arrived from Quincy on a steamboat. They manifested
kind feelings.” Another entry reads, “Captain White, of Quincy, was at the
Mansion last night, and this morning drank a toast saying, ‘May Nauvoo
become the empire seat of government!’”41
After the death of Joseph Smith, Church leaders maintained ties with
the people of Quincy. Some appreciatively wrote of the “friendly disposition
[shown by Quincyans] in establishing . . . peace at Nauvoo” during the difficult days that followed the death of the Mormon founder.42 Of special mention in Mormon annals was John Wood, of whom it was said, “Throughout
all their troubles . . . the saints found a consistent and strong friend in John
Wood.”43
These extraordinary kindnesses of the citizens of Quincy have been spoken of by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
congregations throughout the world for over 160 years. Sincere gratitude in
German, Spanish, Korean, and French may sound strange to some residents
of Quincy today, but such expression has been and will always be found in
Mormon circles. During this same period, according to the Quincy Visitor’s
Guide, those residing in Quincy have “counted [their] blessings and good fortunes, endured an occasional flood or tornado, and settled [into a community known as] the Gem City of the Mississippi Valley.”44
Yet it was a surprise for most of the forty thousand residents of Quincy
when the NBC affiliate, WGEM, aired a three-part news series featuring
“Quincyans opening up their hearts and their doors to the Mormons in the
19th century” in July 1999. Commentator Ron Brown, with a backdrop that
read “Quincy—City of Hope,” spoke of Quincy in 1839 as “having 1,600
people and growing fast, but not fast enough to be prepared to accept 5,600
Mormon refugees into their community.” But he assured his listening audience that “Quincy answered the call” for relief.45
He then featured Mormons of the twentieth century who remembered
the significance of Quincy’s outreach. “The actions of the people of Quincy
make me want to be like them,” said a descendant of an early Mormon exile.
Another interjected, “I want to put my arms around the people for what they
did for my ancestors.” Yet another asked, “What would the Mormons have
done if the people in Quincy hadn’t welcomed them into their town? . . . No
where else is there a town that opened their hearts to us as Quincy did.”46
To further remember past kindnesses, a Quincy Heritage Celebration
was held on 24 July 1999. Over fourteen hundred descendants of exiled
Susan Easton Black: Quincy–A City of Refuge
91
Adams County Court House,
located on Jefferson Square,
Vermont Street between 500 and 600 Streets,
Quincy, Illinois.
Photo by Alexander L. Baugh
Mormons came to Quincy. They represented the early Mormon families of
Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Heber Kimball, Ira Hinckley, and many
more. In spite of the 100-degree temperature, the throng of descendants,
attired like pioneers, were excited to be in Quincy.
The Memorial Bridge between Missouri and Quincy was officially closed
to enable the descendants to reenact the crossing of the Mississippi by their
ancestors 160 years ago. Although crossing of the icy river in the 1830s was
a somber event, the walk of the descendants across the bridge was anything
but somber. Singing and music from bagpipes and harmonicas filled the hot
summer air. When asked, “Why such merriment?” Frankie Barlow, a descendant of exile Israel Barlow, said, “I am grateful he made the sacrifice so I
could have a happy life. I appreciate what those good souls [in Quincy] did.”
A Hinckley family descendant remarked, “It is a grand feeling and a grand
sensation to be with such hospitable people.” Television commentators edi-
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torialized, “Their ancestors came in poverty, yet look how happy their
descendants are.”47 Singing “When the Saints Come Marching In” and
“Come, Come Ye Saints,” the descendants took joy in the simple act of
walking across the bridge.
Joining hands with Mormon descendants, in what was becoming a
parade, were descendants of old Quincy residents. One such man was Dr.
Richard Allen, a descendant of Captain James Brown, the sheriff and justice
of the peace in Quincy in 1839. Dr. Allen was so moved by his walk across
the bridge that he expressed a desire to stop each Mormon and welcome
them to town. Perhaps the most touching scene in the parade was a ninetythree-year-old woman in a wheelchair. She emotionally spoke of touching
the hand of her Mormon grandfather, who had found refuge in Quincy during the winter of 1839. “I am grateful for Quincy,” she said. “To think I have
lived to be wheeled across the Mississippi. It is wonderful.”48
Spectators lined the streets to watch the growing parade. Many wondered what all the excitement was about as descendants shouted, “Thank
You,” and shook hands with the unsuspecting. Although the expressions of
the descendants were sincere and heartfelt, I must admit they pale in comparison to the sentiments of their ancestors.
Few people today can match expressions of gratitude such as the following that were uttered in 1839:
“[Quincyans] burst the chains of slavery and proclaimed us forever free!
. . . Quincy, our first noble city of refuge, when we came from the slaughter
in Missouri with our garments stained with blood, should not be forgotten.”49
“The people of Quincy . . . [are] entitled . . . to our thanks and our profoundest regards. . . . Favors of this kind ought to be engraven on the rock,
to last forever.”50
Ye Sons and Daughters of Benevolence,
Whose hearts are tun’d to tones of sympathy;
Who have put forth the lib’ral hand to meet
The urgent wants of the oppress’d and poor!51
My ability to express gratitude does not begin to compare with these
statements of the past. But may I conclude with the moving words of
Gordon B. Hinckley, President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints: “Eternal will be our gratitude for the people of Quincy
who provided shelter to the homeless.”52
Notes
1. Quincy was founded in 1825 and named in honor of newly elected United States
Susan Easton Black: Quincy–A City of Refuge
93
President John Quincy Adams. The community is mentioned in the annals of history as
the site of a senatorial debate between Senator Stephen A. Douglas and his lesser-known
challenger, Abraham Lincoln. Quincy was the home of Orville H. Browning, a United
States senator and Secretary of the Interior in President Andrew Johnson’s cabinet.
Quincy also claims such notables as Senator William A. Richardson and Illinois
Governors Thomas Carlin, Thomas Ford, and John Wood. Quincy’s Visitors Guide,
1999–2000 (Quincy, Illinois: Quincy Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1999).
2. James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, 1822–1964 (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965), 3:46–47.
3. Joseph Fielding Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Company, 1961), 136.
4. “Quincy: A City of Hope,” WGEM News—NBC Affiliate in Quincy, Illinois,
21–23 July 1999.
5. The distance from Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, to Quincy is about 150
miles in a straight line, but the distance via the roads in 1838 was nearly 200 miles.
Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt
Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Company, 1941), 688.
6. B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 6 vols. (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1965), 2:509.
7. Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. (Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1949), 4:68, hereafter cited as HC.
8. James Sloan, undated petitions, as cited in Clark V. Johnson, ed., Missouri Redress
Petitions: Documents of the Missouri Conflict, 1833–1838 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young
University Religious Studies Center, 1992), 711.
9. HC, 4:67.
10. “Quincy: A City of Hope,” WGEM.
11. Sarah Rich, Autobiography, typescript, 29–30, Special Collections, Harold B.
Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
12. Wandle Mace, Autobiography, typescript, 32–33, Special Collections, Harold B.
Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
13. Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by his Mother (Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft, 1956), 296–97.
14. On 4 March 1839, days after her arrival in Quincy, Sarah Rich gave birth to a
daughter. Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City:
Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901–1935), 3:208.
15. Martha Thomas, Autobiography, in Daniel Thomas Family History (n.p., 1927),
27, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
16. Wandle Mace, Autobiography, 32–33.
17. Mosiah Hancock, Autobiography, typescript, 17, Special Collections, Harold B.
Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
18. Emma and her children crossed the ice on 15 February 1839. Daniel H. Ludlow,
ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company,
1992), 3:1324.
19. Near Lock and Dam 21, as many as two hundred eagles feed in the open water
during the winter season. Quincy Visitor’s Guide, 12.
20. Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
Company, 1980), 278.
21. Joseph Holbrook, Autobiography, typescript, 47, Special Collections, Harold B.
Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
22. Lyman Littlefield, Reminiscences (1888), 110, Special Collections, Harold B.
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Mormon Historical Studies
Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
23. Ibid.
24. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 2:51.
25. Brian Stuy, comp., “Funeral of Erastus Snow,” Collected Discourses Delivered by
President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others (Burbank,
California: B. H. S. Publishing, 1987), 1.
26. George Moore, Diary, as cited in Donald Q. Cannon, “Reverend George Moore
Comments on Nauvoo, Mormons, and Joseph Smith,” Western Illinois Regional Studies 5
(Spring 1982): 7.
27. Today, it would be comparable to Quincyans opening their doors to an influx of
170,000 refugees for five months.
28. Joseph Hovey, Autobiography, typescript, 15, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee
Library, Brigham Young University.
29. “Wilford Woodruff History,” Millennial Star, 27 (1865), 311.
30. Wandle Mace, Autobiography, 31–32.
31. Esaias Edwards, Autobiography, typescript, 14–15, Special Collections, Harold
B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
32. HC, 299–300.
33. William Cahoon, Autobiography, as cited in “Reynolds Cahoon and Sons”
(1960), 87, in author’s possession.
34. Aroet Hale, Autobiography, typescript, 6, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee
Library, Brigham Young University.
35. Luman Shurtliff, Autobiography, typescript, 43, in the Harold B. Lee Library,
Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
36. A few historians have concluded that a political advantage was sought through
this action. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 2:4.
37. HC, 4:368.
38. Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 6.
39. Of special mention were “Governor Carlin, Judge Young, General Leech, Judge
Ralston, Rev. Mr. Young, Col. Henry, N. Bushnell, John Wood, J. N. Morris, S. M.
Bartlett, Samuel Holmes, and J. T. Holmes, Esquires, . . . whose kindness, on that occasion, is indelibly engraved on the tablets of our hearts in golden letters of love.” HC,
4:267.
40. Mary Ann Winters, Young Woman’s Journal, 16 (1905), 557.
41. HC, 6:188-89.
42. Times and Seasons (Nauvoo, Illinois): 5:566.
43. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 5:277.
44. Twice Quincy has been recognized with the All-American City Award,
1962–1963 and again in 1984–1985 (See Quincy Visitor’s Guide).
45. “Quincy: A City of Hope,” WGEM.
46. Comments made by Sister Sagers, Robert King, and Rees Johnson, missionaries
for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in Nauvoo, Illinois.
47. “Quincy: A City of Hope,” WGEM.
48. Ibid.
49. HC, 4:292.
50. Letter to Editors of the Quincy Whig, 17 May1839, as cited in Smith, HC, 3:355.
51. Eliza R. Snow, “To the Citizens of Quincy,” Poems, Religious, Historical, and
Political, 2 vols. (Liverpool: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1856), 63–65.
52. President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Nauvoo—Sunrise and Sunset on the
Mississippi,” BYU Studies, 32, (Winter, 1991): 1:20.